Improvement in propellers



3 batted tait/ei Massaal-M- HENRY F. ROBERTS, 0F PITTSBURG', PENNSYLVANIA. Latem Parmi No. 85,403, dated December 29, 1868-.

IMPROVEIVIENT IN' PROPEL'LERS.

The Schedule referred to 'in these Letters APatent and making part of the same.

To ll whom it ma/y conce/rn Be it known that I, HENRY F. ROBERTS, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny, and State of Penn- Y drawings', making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through line a; x oi iig. 2.

Figure Z is a plan.

T he obj ect of this-invention is to provide a'substantial and easily-operating apparatus for propelling vessels, so constructed that its action can be readily reversed, with out reversing the `action ofthe engine or motive-power.

In the drawings, A indicates the bed-piece or supporting-frame, near the extremity of which is a large vertical opening, B, in which the blade of the propeller .is operated by the pitman D.

vO n each side lof this opening, strong vertical sidepieces GG are attached to the' bed-piece, in a position parallel to each other, and supported by bracesE On the inner Walls oftheseA side-pieces, guide-grooves c c arc cut, into which projecting arms t' i, fromthe ends of'the.propeller-blade I, extend, running in the grooves as the propeller moves back and forth, and guidingFf and controlling the motion of the blade.

The track thus formed for the arms t' i is in Shape elliptical, or similar to the periphery of a -double-con- Vex lens.

' In following the upper groove, the bladeis lifted out of Water, and, in moving along the lower groove, it is plunged into the Water, and imparts motion, either forward or backward, to the vessel In order to reverse the motion of the propeller, I employ a simple device, consisting of two. V-shaped levers M M', pivoted at m m, so that the arms of the lever embrace the ends ofthe curved tracks, and,.by depressing or elevating the arms, theypcan be made to interceptthe propeller at its dead-points;7 and cause it to take either the upper or. lower curve.

The levers are fixed to ,their pivot-'shafts m jm, and to the latter are attached vertical arms N N', which are connected by a rod,` R,

The rod, in its turn, is operated by a hand-lever, 0,' in such a manner as to actuate both V-shaped levers. at once.

When the propeller is running in either direction, the

lever O ispaced in .a vertical position, bringingthe leversrMpM intov the position shown in g. 1, and the blade then follows the guide-grooves accurately, with-.,-

out coming in contact at all with the v -shaped levers.

If it is now desired to reverse the motion of the propeller without reversing-.the engine, it is only necessary to throw the hand-lever O either to the right or left, so as to bring one ofthe arms of each V-shaped lever across the guide-groove, thus intercepting the blade of the propellerat or near the dead-point, and forcing it to take a reverse action from that point.

` It lis obvious that this device can be employed either upon side-wheel or stern-wheel boats;

.Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to'secure by Letters Patent, is'- 1. The combination of the blade I, having thearms e' t', with the grooved track o c and pitman D, substantially'as described.

2. The combination, with said blade and 't1ack, of Athe V- shaped reversing-levers M M, and the arms N N', and'connecting-rod R, substantiallyV as described.

, To the above specication of my. improvement, I` 

